Talking Sustainability with ECO Gord Miller

June is a pretty exciting month for us at the Toronto Star’s NewInHomes.com. Our focus this month is on Sustainability, and how both developers and individuals can make the city a better place to live. To kick off Sustainability Month, we figured there was no better person to talk with than Gord Miller, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO). Our discussion with Miller centred on his role within Ontario, how we build sustainable homes, and steps we can take to create a healthier natural environment.

NewInHomes (NIH): Tell us about your role as the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. What do you do on a daily basis? How did you end up where you are today?

Gord Miller (GM): My role is important. People often have a hard time understanding the role of an 'independent officer,' reporting directly to the 107 members of the legislature. I applied to an ad in the Globe and Mail and got the job through the natural process. You go before a job selection committee, which consists of members from every party, but I have no connection with any of them - it’s not a government position in the traditional sense, it’s very non partisan. Once I got the job, all 107 members of the legislature voted. You’re independent of the government and you’re overseeing government decisions as it relates to environment, energy conservation and efficiency, and the reduction of greenhouse gases.

NIH: What are your main focuses or responsibilities as the ECO?

GM: Our big focus is the Environmental Bill of Rights, which gives residents the opportunity to voice their concerns on environmental issues that can negatively affect them or their community. It’s become a great tool for the citizens of Ontario to be leaders in ensuring that we are all on the same page with regards to the environment and our standards. It gets the issues out on the table, it allows us to confront the government, and if they are not going to do anything about it, I find out why. As an example, in 2010, I issued a report about road pricing. At the time, no one was talking about tolls or user fees as a way to solve our congestion problems. When I put in my report, I recommended that the government look at road tolls and parking fees to raise money for transit. At the time, no one was saying that, my communications people joked that I should go to the middle east, because I’m the only one who was able to bring three warring parties together. All three parties denounced my recommendations, but yet we see these discussions now. I don't take credit for getting that out there, now it’s being talked about by a wide variety of people, as it should be. Breaking the ice and getting the message out there is key. Sometimes it’s the first and most important step.

NIH: What are some of the most common issues residents report to you?

GM: The more recent concerns are about the home renovation programs - the federal and provincial grants. They were widely taken advantage of by people, and highly valued by people, instigating homeowners to improve important aspects of their home. That government program was all the incentive necessary to get people off the couch and get them renovating. That really helps in a big sector of energy conservation and greenhouse gas reduction. When those programs were cancelled, it was a big hit, we still hear about it. We need to look at getting something new perhaps, but giving an incentive to people in the residential sector to do a better job in conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gases would be a tremendous benefit, both for the environment and the economy - people were spending a significant amount of money.

NIH: What else are you and the Province doing to create a healthier natural environment in Ontario?

GM: There is a whole lot in play, and a lot of good initiatives that we see in various municipalities, with respect to transportation and district heating. Toronto Hydro is focusing on a new initiative with batteries and power storage, techniques that can manage our energy consumption and put more energy back into the system. There are a whole lot of things that we are doing, however I have to say, we haven't seen a lot from the provincial government. We haven't seen many provincial initiatives since all the way back to the Green Energy Act. We have a lot of enthusiasm within pockets of our province, our local municipalities are engaged, but in terms of new legislation from the provincial level, there hasn’t been a lot. We certainly have progressed in terms of technology, so it is an exciting and positive time, however we need to get organized from a provincial level to get a real spark and continue the positive momentum.

NIH: Are the local municipalities more engaged because they have more at stake?

GM: Absolutely, not only from the very practical side, but just from a quality of life standpoint. Municipalities are by nature, more sensitive to the public concerns. Also, let’s give some credit here, many developers in the local municipalities are producing some projects around the GTA that are adding some great environmental aspects to your home. So there are opportunities out there, but it’s not coordinated at the provincial level.

Having said that, we pushed the provincial government to put energy efficiency into the building code, and they did. I think it’s given us extremely strong energy efficient homes. We have raised the standards. Our new homes have a score of an 80 or better, which is tremendously efficient. Even homes that were built a few years ago would be different, having scores of 70 or lower. The progress is there. People used the Bill of Rights and made it an issue, and the Province listened. Ontario builds, in my opinion, the most energy efficient homes in the country. I was reading an article about how Alberta is pushing to get it into the 70s, while we are in the 80s - we are ahead of the game.

NIH: If you could send one message to our readers, what would it be?

GM: People should let the government know that they are interested in participating in improving the greenhouse gas standards of their built environment - the houses that we have been building the past 100 years. I sense it, I hear it, people want to engage, but they aren't sure how, they need a little bit of help. With a little cooperation from the government, we can do great things. They just need that encouragement. It’s also one of the few things that they can engage with. Regular people, they get swept away by the large plans like transit and other grand plans. Everyone can talk about putting energy efficient windows in, we can improve our water usage, we can talk about the technology that we all use to make our homes more efficient - we just need to start that conversation. Let your legislators know that this is something that you want, push them to open up a dialogue.

We would like to thank Gord Miller for his time, and look forward to watching him and his team make the province of Ontario an environmentally better place to live.